Dutch government: pea soup with sugar?

We have almost a new government, consisting of three parties: the C.U. (Christian Union), the C.D.A. (Christian-Democratic Appeal) and the P.v.d.A. (Party of the Labour, a social-democratic party). One could say a christian - socialist collaboration. Tasts like pea soup with sugar, an almost impossible combination, reminding an old soldiers' song, titled: "Who put the sugar into the pea soup?" ("Wie heeft de suiker in de erwtensoep gedaan?"). Of course I'm primarily interested in the new Minister of Education. He appears to be a brillant biology professor who has almost won a Nobel Prize. During the last decade he developed an interest in societal affairs andd has a column in one of the Dutch leading newspapers, so from now on his opinions can be matched against his governmental behaviour. His name is Robert Plasterk. When you look on his website, you notice that "evolution" is something that he couldn't avoid to deal with, and he furiously wrote against the Minister of Education who is still in charge for a couple of days, Mrs. Maria van der Hoeven. She had the hubris to put on her weblog that she considered to introduce the concept of "Intelligent Design" into the schools. Robert Plasterk immediately made the mistake to see "creationism" and "intelligent design" as one and the same concept, and also seemed to forget that more than two thirds of our primary schools are "Christian" schools, where an Intelligent Design concept already belongs to the curriculum. His point was however not the validity of either I.D. or evolutionism (which to my opinion doesn't exclude I.D.) but that a government had not to interfere with religion or religion-related subjects in the classroom (separation of Church and State - principle). In that sense he was right, but his first emotion was that somebody important had I.D.-sympathies, I'm afraid. "Nihil est in intellectu quod non prius fuerit in spirito", as one would quote a variation on the famous proverb.

Now the journalists ask him the obvious question: how could he, as such a libertarian atheist as he is, co-operate with so many Christian ministers in one administration? The newspapers mention some facts that could explain this: he has already sung 40 times in a Christian choir the Matthew's Passion of Bach, and he explains that the big Chistian issues such as abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, etc. as far as he is concerned, are already satisfactorily settled in existing laws.

I know that the Netherlands have an image of too much liberty on these issues, maybe to such an extent that even a creationist-fighter like Plasterk is satisfied with it. Now the Christian Union, which never participated in government before and has exclusively Christian voters will be able to regain some influence in these matters. The two Christian parties together will defend the interests of the Christian schools as bullterriers. Dr. Plasterk, better be alert! But I think he'll manage. As a columnist he invented the word "Somethingism" (Ietsisme) for the religious feelings of those people who are not church-attendants (except maybe at Christmas and marriage) but feel there must be "Something".

It also seems as if the government has said goodbye to "integration policy" as such. Integration has to come from the people themselves, and cannot be imposed by government measures. Only the Minister of Housing has immigrants in his job description. It goes the right way with immigrant situation: gradually and very slowly they will get integrated by themselves I'm sure. Now we expect the Rumenians, from a country that just has become EC-member, and certainly will seek improvement of their life situation also in our small country. They have an image (but never generalize!) of seeing us as the very rich strangers, from whom it's allowed to take away something sometimes, anyway, quite a few burglars and thieves that have been arrested appear to be Rumenians all of a sudden.

And rich we are! We Dutch seem also to go to former communist countries, even to settle there. I saw a website where houses and building places are offered for sale, at less than one third of the price paid here for the same quality! So who wants to move to Poland (not Menno, when I talked with him about it!), be quick for the market will soon adjust prices. You also have to learn Polish because English is spoken by as many people as here speak Chinese, minority speaks a little bit German. That too will change rapidly I'm sure. And you have to be Roman Catholic, or try to adjust to the very catholic culture in that country, I think.